Holland may sue over portrayal in Guerin movie

PATRICK ‘Dutchy’ Holland, who is serving 12 years for drugs offences, is considering suing film-makers over his portrayal in the hit movie Veronica Guerin.

Holland believes the film, which has grossed nearly €4m in Ireland, represented him as the hitman who shot the investigating journalist at traffic lights on the Naas Road in Dublin in June 1996.

His brother James said last night that the 63-year-old career criminal, due to be released from prison in just two years’ time, has been in contact with solicitors in England over the possibility of taking a libel action.

Although Holland has not seen the film, he was given details of how the various characters are portrayed.

“He’s not pleased. He believes he has been represented as the hitman, yet he was not convicted or even charged,” James Holland said. “He plans to sue the producers, Touchstone Pictures, for libel.”

An Irish representative of the producers was not available for comment last night.

In the film, the killer is wearing a motorcycle helmet and is not directly named. But Holland believes he is still identified as the pillion passenger of the bike being driven by fellow gang member Brian Meehan.

Gang leader John Gilligan, who recently lost an appeal against his conviction for drugs offences, has also threatened legal action over the film. He believes the film makers clearly identified him as the mastermind behind the murder despite his acquittal at the Special Criminal Court.

Dubliner Holland is serving his third jail sentence, following a conviction in the 1960s for armed robbery and one in the late ’80s for illegal possession of commercial explosives. He joined Gilligan’s drugs gang on his release from prison in early 1994.

As with all the other members of the gang, many of whom are serving sentences, his name came to public prominence following the murder of Ms Guerin in 1996.

Holland admitted in early 1997 he was a prime suspect for the murder and conducted a series of interviews denying the charge and claiming gardaí were out to ‘fit him up’. At that stage he was out of the country but returned to face questioning about the murder.

His brother James said newspaper articles named him as the killer early in 1997 and that he came back to answer those charges. Holland claims the drugs charges were manufactured to get him behind bars. He is due to appear before the High Court on October 20, where he will argue new evidence has been unearthed to discredit the testimony of a key witness in his trial. He claims to be the victim of a miscarriage of justice.